who is God?

God is an interesting topic to discuss in our contemporary culture. In some situations God is very popular and a hot topic, while other times the topic of God is a forgone conclusion of non-existence so there would be no need to talk about him. It is interesting how our American culture is one that likes to blaspheme and deny God while blaming God for all the evil in the world. Our cursing culture uses the term “god” all the time. But our culture is very unfamiliar with the God of the Bible. So I am going to show you who God is by talking about God’s sovereignty in creation, His holiness in existence, and then our need for him in light of his justice in salvation.

From the beginning of the inspired Word we see that God is central to and sovereign over all of creation. Without the Word of God, we as humans are left to reason without God, which results with an innumerable amount of beliefs about the creation of the world. With a multitude of beliefs on how the earth and all of creation came to existence one thing is for sure, creation is immensely complex. For a simple person to observe the universe and conclude it as a result of sheer randomness is to accept the fact that the ideology of any deity as ridiculous. Without deity, human reason is left to trying to prove creation from the perspective of science. Science does not give purpose to man, because science is finite. A system of finiteness cannot explain nor get rid of the idea of infiniteness, such as a deity. The infiniteness that is described from the very beginning of the Bible is labeled as “God.” It is assumed from the first verse of the inspired Word that God exists. God is known from the very beginning as the Creator of the entire universe. When God created man, he gave him purpose. The purpose of man is to have dominion over every animal that is on earth and he is ultimately given dominion “over all the earth.” This purpose is given to man, and this purpose was for the pleasure of God. God was pleased at the end of the day with his creation of man “in his own image” and said that everything he had made was “very good.” This is the purpose that each man has engraved on his heart because from the beginning, God created man with this purpose. The establishment of a Deity is necessary for the discussion of creation because an all-powerful and sovereign being is needed to explain the origin of the universe and give meaning to humanity.

Next, I will argue for the holiness of God in His existence. A popular train of thought is thrown around Christendom when the idea of God’s omnipotence is brought up. This thought says that “God is so powerful, he can do absolutely everything! There is nothing He can’t do!” How encouraging this thought is at the surface, but when scrutinized it comes up very short of the true meaning of God’s omnipotence. God cannot do a lot of things. He cannot lie, change, be unjust, be tempted, and many more. It is a natural human inclination to want to deny the full wrath of God. So when the thought is brought up of “there’s nothing He can’t do,” some people will make an exception for God’s “wrath” as well as the previous list. But God’s holiness is at stake with this exception. As R. C. Sproul urges us to think soberly for a few second, we must see that “If God is holy at all, if God has an ounce of justice in His character, indeed if God exists as God, how could He possibly be anything else but angry with us?” Dr Sproul goes on to list some simple reasons why God would be angry with us, such as our making being flippant about His grace, our defiance of His holiness, and our slighting of His justice. If we believe that God is holy, then we must realize that God is no God at all unless He possess wrath against those who oppose and sin against Him. God must act out in holy justice against those who oppose and sin against Him because He cannot allow sin or opposition into His heaven. As God’s existence is explored, one can see that all of His other attributes must be seen through the lenses of His holiness.

Not only does God’s sovereignty in creation and His holiness in existence shape our view of who God is, it is imperative that we need Him to save us from punishment if we want to live forever, and this can only happen through His justice in salvation. From the time Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden, humanity has been under the curse and enslavement of sin. For man’s sin, God has condemned those who die in their sin to eternal death in hell. “But God, being rich in mercy” has made a way that we can be saved from death in hell. It is just and right for God to kill all mankind for their rebellion and to send them to hell. It is just for God to be angry at humanity because of our sin. But God has decided to show save some people so that His mercy would shine forth and his name would be glorified. He decided to save people so that his original purpose for mankind might be fulfilled. This is a stark contrast to the rest of the religions of the world. As Alistair Begg put this idea, “Other religions say 'I obey, therefore I'm accepted.' Genuine Christianity says 'I'm accepted, therefore I obey.'" This is at the heart of God’s justice. He doesn’t have to save any, but he chooses to save a few so that his sovereignty and holiness might be shown through His justice. God’s simple plan of salvation was to send his one and unique Son to earth, to live a sinless life, to die on the cross for the appeasement of the sins of the elect, and then to rise from death so that death can no longer have dominion over those whom God has chosen. This displays God’s justice in the salvation of His people.

God’s justice in salvation, His holiness in existence, and his sovereignty in creation are all facets that make up the one true and living God. These facets show humanity who God is, how He works, and why He does the things that He does. Each of the points shows us our need to be under His covenantal promise of salvation. 

by Kasey Clark